


Three Times Sam and Jack Didn't Touch

by holdouttrout



Category: Stargate: SG-1
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-25
Updated: 2011-02-25
Packaged: 2017-10-21 17:06:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/227569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holdouttrout/pseuds/holdouttrout
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Exactly what it says on the box. Unbetaed fluff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Three Times Sam and Jack Didn't Touch

**1\. Attempt**

He tried to grab Sam, but a second tremor threw him off balance and he missed her completely.

There was an agonizing second where he saw her topple over the ledge, and then a spike of adrenaline as he realized he was just about to follow. He scrabbled for any sort of purchase and found it, hanging on as his feet slipped—and then he was lying flat, watching the ledge, and wishing it was safe to let go, to see--.

The tremor subsided within a few seconds, and Jack inched his way cautiously to the edge.

He leaned over, scanning for blond hair—found it, much closer than he’d dared hope, but farther than he liked. Sam had fallen to a narrow, decorative ledge that ran around the inside of the rim. From the looks of it, it was a miracle it hadn’t broken off under her weight.

"Carter!" he called, watching for movement, listening for—

A ragged breath, and then a spate of coughing from below, and Sam turned her head. Jack dropped his head into his arm for a quick moment, hiding his relief.

Sam stopped coughing, finally, and said, clearly,

"Ow."

Jack raised his head and said, "How’s it going down there?"

"Peachy-keen, sir." Sam moved her limbs and said, "I don’t think anything’s broken." She rolled over carefully and stood, holding onto the wall beside her ledge. She looked down, and then up, though Jack could see she was being careful not to move too quickly.

"Hit your head?" Jack asked.

A beat of silence, and then, "I don’t think so."

Jack made a mental note to have Sam report to the infirmary anyway. "Okay," Jack said, judging the distance between them. "We’re going to need a rope."

Another tremor hit. Jack grasped at the floor, his knuckles turning white, but this one was more like a gentle wave than the violent shaking of before, and it was quiet almost before Jack had braced himself.

Below him, Sam was flush against the wall. She called out "Anytime, sir."

Jack unclipped his pack and got to work.

 **2\. Misunderstanding**

They ended up in the _weirdest_ prisons.

Sam took in the platforms suspended from the ceiling--they looked very much like perches in a birdcage, actually--with just enough room for one person to lay down in one direction, and separated from each other by a distance just slightly too big to jump safely. Thankfully, they were anchored on all four corners, so they didn't sway.

There were several other empty perches, and Sam had the errant thought that at least there would be room for the rest of SG-1 if they showed up.

"How do we end up in these places?" said her next-perch neighbor.

Sam refrained from glaring at said neighbor, who also happened to be her commanding officer. She also (barely) refrained from assigning the appropriate blame.

"No, seriously, I still don't know what we did."

"What you did, sir," Sam said before she could stop herself.

A beat of silence. Then, "I count two of us in jail, Major."

Sam closed her eyes, sensing that she'd crossed a line. Evidence of her genius intellect, no doubt. Still, she wasn't taking the blame for this one.

"I'm not the one they cited for public indecency, sir. They only arrested me because I tried to defend you."

A longer silence. Finally, Jack cleared his throat. "Yes, well. I'm going to have to tell General Hammond something."

Sam hadn't gotten that far. Crap. She knew exactly what Jack had done, but somehow she couldn't imagine Hammond reacting well to "Well, you see, sir, apparently Colonel O'Neill was _looking_ at me with something other than professional respect, and since Daniel had already informed the Nythians that we weren't married, they decided he'd broken a strict social taboo."

Yeah. That probably wouldn't go over well.

For the first time since they'd been put in here, Sam looked over at Jack. He looked vaguely guilty, and Sam relented.

"I think it was some sort of misunderstanding, sir."

Jack's expression cleared a little. "It would have to be, right?"

Sam nodded. "Absolutely. I don't know exactly what they think happened, but I'm sure they were mistaken."

"No doubt," Jack said, sounding very relieved.

Sam refrained from rolling her eyes.

Barely.

 **3\. Wake up**

There were moments Jack understood the whole gooey romantic crap thing.

This was one of those moments; rain was hitting the tent, Jack was perfectly warm inside his sleeping bag, and he was watching Sam Carter wake up next to him. Jack would never admit it to anyone, but he had the whole routine catalogued, from the first sign of restlessness to the little sigh she gave just before she opened her eyes--

On cue, Sam let out a breath and her eyes opened. She blinked blearily a couple of times before focusing and looking him in the eye--

Crap. He'd forgotten to look away. Again.

Sam smiled, and Jack decided forgetting was worth it. He just wouldn't smile back, or would make a quip about the (terrible) weather, and life would move on.

Jack felt the corners of his lips quirk upwards.

Oops.

Sam burrowed a little deeper into her sleeping bag, still smiling.

Jack gave up and settled back down into his bag. It was early, and it was still raining.

He smiled. They had time.

  



End file.
